SOMETHING LACKING
Yet, even after all of these appraisals, she still says, “Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense” (4:6). Regardless of how well others appraise her, including the Lord, she still has the feeling that the day is not breaking and some shadows still exist. So even at this stage she still desires to have a deeper, fuller experience of the Lord’s death. Hence, she goes to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. This means that she will stay there until her day breaks and all the shadows flee away.
Why, after such an attainment, are there still shadows and no daybreak? Because regardless of how high she has attained, the Lord’s final purpose has not been fulfilled. As to herself, she has satisfaction and maturity. But concerning the Lord’s purpose, nothing has been fulfilled. She has attained to such a high state, yet she still feels that something is lacking. There is still no daybreak, and there are still some shadows. So she would take herself to the mountain of the Lord’s death and the hill of His resurrection.
THE NEED OF MORE TIME
This kind of experience requires a longer period of time to pass through. No one can tell how long she stayed there. Even today with us, no one knows how long it takes. For some it may be five years, for others seven years, and for others it may be twelve years. We all need a longer time to stay at the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. One thing is certain: it could never be accomplished overnight. You cannot read another chapter in the Bible and stay in the Lord’s presence for another half hour, and then you have it. No, we have to stay there. It takes time.
Sometimes we are too much in haste. We have to learn to slow down. Many times I was desperate in the Lord’s presence, and the Lord told me, “Go to sleep.” I was desperate to tell the Lord so many things, but the Lord simply told me, “Go to sleep. Don’t worry so much.” It takes time. We cannot stretch ourselves on the bed to be a little taller, and then expect the next day to have grown half a foot. But if we eat and sleep and exercise, we grow unconsciously, without knowing it. After many years, we will grow into a full-grown man.
TRANSFERRED TO LEBANON
No one knows how long this seeker of the Lord Jesus stayed on the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. But she remained there until she was transferred somewhere else. She said that she would get herself to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense, but eventually the Lord called her to leave Mount Lebanon. “Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon” (4:8). Myrrh signifies the Lord’s death, and frankincense signifies the Lord’s resurrection, while Lebanon is a type of the Lord’s ascension. She said she would get to the mountain of the Lord’s death and the hill of the Lord’s resurrection, but eventually she arrived at the top of the Lord’s ascension. The experience of the Lord’s death and resurrection transferred her to the Lord’s ascension. Now she is on the mountaintop of the Lord’s ascension.
There is always the danger that we will be satisfied with what we have attained. In chapter two, there was the discrepancy between her and the Lord due to her satisfaction with her attainment. In chapter one, she was seeking the Lord, and she found what she was seeking. When she received the enjoyment and the satisfaction, she was content to stay there. But the Lord would not agree for her to stay. That was the cause of a controversy and discrepancy between her and the Lord. The Lord will never be content with any state of our Christian life. We are so easily satisfied with our attainments, but He is not. How wonderful that she attained to the mountaintop of the Lord’s ascension! Not only had she experienced so much of the Lord’s death and resurrection, but she had attained to the mountaintop of the Lord’s ascension.
(Life and Building as Portrayed in the Song of Songs, Chapter 9, by Witness Lee)
